BTS: What it’s Really Like to Be One of the World’s Biggest Beauty Influencers
Main image – @amicharlize/Instagram
Question: What do you get when you mix a 3.5 million follower count on Tik Tok, over 700,000 followers on Instagram and a wealth of fashion and beauty knowledge? Answer: One of the world’s most popular fashion and beauty influencers, Ami Charlize.
Charlize has achieved more than you’d normally expect a 17-year-old girl to achieve in such a short space of time. Not only is she an influencer and was recently awarded Star Influencer of the Year at the Superdrug Star Awards 2024, but she’s written her own book, presents her own podcast and she’s even an anti-bullying advocator.
But what’s it really like being Ami Charlize? What does being a successful influencer mean to her? And what are her all-time favourite beauty tricks?
Keep scrolling to find out from the lady herself.
Starting out
Charlize’s love of content creation began at an early age. “For as long as I can remember I’ve been obsessed with all things fashion, beauty and creating content,” she says. “When I was 12, I started making videos in my room for Musically and YouTube. I never imagined that I would be able to create content for a living.”
Things started to ramp up, even while she was still at school. So how did she get any work done?! “I was balancing my coursework with filming brand deals, attending events, taking meetings, etc,” she explains.
“When I completed school, I was thrilled to take my social media career full-time. Since then, I’ve had the time and opportunity to go on tour, write a book, launch a podcast, and I’m in the process of developing my own brand! The journey to get here has had its highs and lows, but I pinch myself every morning that I get to wake up and do what I love.”
Image – Ami Charlize
Growing slowly and staying relatable
Unlike a lot of successful entrepreneurs, experts and influencers, Charlize says there was no real turning point when she knew she had made it. “The growth across my platforms happened very steadily as I’ve been doing this for so many years now,” she says.
So what does she think brought the followers in? “I try to keep my content very real and give an honest look into my life,” she explains. “I think of every single follower as a friend – I want them to come with me through life as I navigate growing up. I think relatability is the key to having a good relationship with your followers. I want my platform to be somewhere young girls can turn to when they need a good laugh, or to feel seen or understood.”
And not only does she want her followers to see her as a friend, but she has managed to make a network of her own friends through social media too. “Some of my very best friends like Nya Temple and Tallulah Metcalfe, I met through the industry,” she says. “Now, we get to go to events together, do campaigns together and this summer we had the opportunity to travel around Ireland and the UK together with PrettyLittleThing’s Girl Squad tour.”
It’s this, she says, that is her favourite thing about being a content creator, as well as the career opportunities it has provided her. “I’ve had the privilege of working with so many incredible people on a daily basis and learning so much from them,” she explains.
“Whether it’s the brands I work with, talent I film with, my teams, or my audience, they all inspire me and uplift me in incredible ways. I’ve had the opportunity to work on really exciting projects both for myself and for larger campaigns.
“This year I wrote my first book, “My World: Challenges, Changes and Chasing my Dreams”, which I followed up with a tour across the UK. It was so surreal to meet my community and be able to share a new side of myself with them through the book.”
Image – Ami Charlize
Podcast Highlights
Charlize’s podcast, “Ami Charlize’s Private Story” is another thing to tick off her growing list of achievements. But what does she enjoy most about presenting it? “I’ve been so honoured to have amazing guests on the show, from Mimi Webb, GK Barry, Max Balegde, and many more really talented individuals,” she says.
“However, my absolute favourite episodes are always those with my family or friends because I can let my guard down and just have a laugh.” So who was her favourite guest?
“Out of all the guests I’ve ever had on, my mum, Dawn, has been the highlight,” she explains. “She’s my role model and has been by my side this whole journey. To get to share her incredible personality and wisdom with my audience was really special. It really resonated with the listeners too – she became everyone’s mum that day!”
Image – Ami Charlize
Beauty tips and tricks
You only have to glance at Charlize’s Instagram and TikTok account to realise she knows her stuff about beauty. But where does she find the inspiration to try new things?
“I’m a creature of habit when it comes to my beauty and skincare, so I don’t venture too much outside of my go-to’s, however, I get really inspired when I work with different makeup artists and see how they operate,” she explains.
“I also get lots of inspiration from TikTok – my FYP is always feeding me the coolest beauty videos. It’s fascinating how many different routes you can take to get to a stunning makeup look. I like to compound the different hacks that I’ve learned and create routines of my own.”
And her top three beauty tricks? First of all, “it’s all about that base,” she says. “Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter is such a multipurpose product. It can be a light base on a ‘no makeup’ makeup day, or the perfect prep for a full face!”
Secondly, skincare. “Give your time skin to breathe,” she says. “The one thing I will use every single day without fail is Starface Pimple Patches for any blemishes. For teens my age it’s an essential!”
And last but not least, give your lashes a break. “This is the year of natural lashes,” she explains. “I’m putting a pause on getting lash extensions and focusing on the health of my natural lashes with a lash serum! (I do still love the eyelash emporium half lashes for when I want to be full glam though).”
And speaking of beauty, what does a beauty influencer’s everyday skincare routine look like? “I’m a huge fan of the basics. I live by my Cerave products, they make my skin feel amazing and I know I can always rely on them,” she says.
“I have super sensitive skin, so I try to keep it simple and predictable for the sake of my skin. My bathroom cabinet is like a Paula’s Choice store, I’ve never had a product from there that I haven’t loved and re-purchased; especially their BHA Toner.”
Image – Ami Charlize
Using her platform for the greater good
But whilst posting about beauty showcases Charlize’s fun and creative side, there are other important things she wants to get off her chest through her social media presence.
“Having a large platform has allowed me to speak on important causes close to my heart,” she says. “I was bullied in school but [because of] that experience I’ve been able to partner with Anti-Bullying Week and talk to incredible outlets, like the BBC, on overcoming bullying. My goal is for anyone out there who is experiencing bullying to know that they aren’t alone. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Image – Ami Charlize
The takeaway
She might only be 17, but Ami Charlize definitely has her head firmly screwed on. Whether she’s discussing the perils of bullying online or offering beauty tips to her millions of followers, she’s the one to keep watching.
“There’s so much noise on social media these days,” she says. “If my pages can be a safe place for even one young girl to be entertained, encouraged, etc., I know I’ve done my job.”
Get Glowing!
